With the sound, a figure walked into the camp, the commander here, Shimura Danzo. Tatsuma and Minato hurriedly saluted, they didn't have the strength or status to show off.
Tatsuma had seen him not for the first time, but for the second time. Last time they only had a brief encounter, without the opportunity to get to know each other deeply, of course, even if given the chance to Tatsuma, he wouldn't want it.
After all, whether it's the original work or various derivative works, there is no positive portrayal of this dark figure in the ninja world, the root of Konoha, Shimura Danzo.
Perhaps at this time, Shimura Danzo is like Orochimaru, not yet on the path of corruption, or rather not yet on the path of complete corruption, but Tatsuma still doesn't want to get involved.
Including Orochimaru, it's also because of Tsunade and Nawaki's sake that he has had multiple encounters with Orochimaru. Even after so long, Tatsuma still has some bias against Orochimaru.
After Danzo stepped into the tent and looked at various scrolls piled on the side containing supplies, he nodded in satisfaction. Then he glanced at the child who he found pleasing to the eye.
Having lived for over forty years, Danzo never liked children, including the kid from his good friend Sarutobi Hiruzen's family. Too noisy and foolish. He heard that during his mission this time, Sarutobi that guy added one more.
Including Sakumo Hatake, who was once praised by countless people, and Orochimaru, when these people were young, Danzo still found them irritating, too noisy, and lacking any sense of propriety.
But only this curly-haired child was different, especially in this second encounter. The last time he found him pleasing, Danzo thought it was his imagination or some strange idea due to lack of oxygen while traveling.
But this second glance... he was still so pleasing, no, even more pleasing. This made Danzo couldn't help but recall Orochimaru's previous evaluation of this child - "good kid".
As for Orochimaru's simultaneous evaluation of the two people, there was also a golden-haired little devil! With a fake smile on his face, he looked like one of those disgusting people like Sarutobi!
After Danzo's gaze lingered on Minato for a second, his eyes returned to Tatsuma. Although he was far on the front lines, he used his connections to gather some news about the village.
There were rumors that this young man had a blood relationship with his sensei, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. Initially, when Danzo heard this news, he thought it was nonsense or some trickery by Sarutobi or Orochimaru.
To actually let a child fall into the center of public opinion, only that guy Sarutobi could do it! Disgusting!
However, upon closer inspection, Danzo actually had a feeling that it might not be impossible, and even thought, "No wonder this boy is so pleasing."
And it's not impossible. This kid is a war orphan. His parents and his name were found in the village that saved him. As for the origin of his parents, it's unclear, only known that they were residents of the Land of Fire.
In this day and age, although it's much better than the Warring States period, tracing ancestry is still extremely difficult. It's already challenging to find out about the previous generation, let alone trying to go back two generations or even further. It's almost impossible.
As Danzo carefully scrutinized the pleasing young man, Tsunade couldn't help herself. She disliked the way Danzo was examining her disciple and stepped in between them, saying disapprovingly:
"If it weren't for your insistence on dragging the battlefield into the Land of Rain, the situation of the war wouldn't have escalated like this. How can I trust you to keep Nawaki safe here?!"
"Hmph!"
Blocked from his view, Danzo snorted discontentedly, then lifted his head to look at Tsunade, saying, "Everything I've done has been for the village. After entering the Land of Rain, our Konoha has almost always been victorious in battles against the Sand Ninja."
"If it weren't for my decisions, how many Konoha ninjas would have died at the hands of the Sand? Do you know? Furthermore, as for the escalation of the war, that's Hanzo's doing, what does it have to do with me?!"
Hearing Danzo's self-righteous words, Tsunade furrowed her brows and retorted, "Why did Hanzo declare war? Others might not know the reason, but do you think I don't know?!"
"If it weren't for your orders prioritizing war, even if it meant targeting civilians in the Land of Rain, if Hanzo hadn't known about this, perhaps the negotiations could have continued!"
"Civilians? Hmph~ That's just Hanzo's word against ours. War has already broken out. If they were truly civilians, why didn't they flee? Perhaps they were left behind by the Land of Rain to spy, who knows."
Danzo's unreasonable words made Tsunade grind her teeth in anger. Minato and Tatsuma exchanged glances, both detecting some surprise. After all, they hadn't experienced this kind of news before.
Although they knew about the progress of the negotiations, they didn't know the detailed reasons for Danzo's disruption. They only heard about the end of the talks and Hanzo's declaration of war from the village.
During the subsequent meetings of the village elders and numerous jonin, the two of them didn't have the qualifications to participate. They never imagined that the real reason Hanzo disrupted the talks was because Danzo targeted the civilians of the Land of Rain.
After expressing their emotions, Tatsuma suddenly thought of Nagato. He remembered that Nagato's parents were killed by Konoha ninjas, which fueled Nagato's hatred towards Konoha and the major nations.
Indeed, will this blood still end up on Shimura Danzo?
At this moment, Nawaki also had his mouth wide open, seemingly unable to understand why the topic shifted from whether he could go to the battlefield to why the war escalated into such confidential matters.
Orochimaru, looking at the two who were clearly angry, said, "Tsunade, some things are better left unsaid. Danzo-sama's past actions are no longer relevant.
If Nawaki wants to gain experience on the battlefield now, then undoubtedly, this is the best place. Danzo-sama, I also hope you can understand Tsunade's emotions. After all, the village has invested a lot because of the war."
With that said, Orochimaru closed his mouth. Danzo didn't need to hear the rest. If he said it, Tsunade would get angry.
Tsunade denies having any clan because there's no longer a Senju Clan in Konoha, but those people still have blood ties with Tsunade. Tsunade says she doesn't care, but Orochimaru knows what Tsunade truly thinks.
With Orochimaru's intervention, Tsunade and Danzo both nodded, their expressions easing. Then Danzo looked at the scrolls containing sealed supplies and said:
"These supplies, along with the new reinforcements, I'll take seventy percent."
"Impossible!"
In an instant, Tsunade's eyebrows shot up again as she said, "The village's allocation is already half for each battlefield. Besides, when deep in the heart of the Land of Rain, resupplying is even more difficult. How could we give you more supplies?!
As for manpower, we are already an emergency formation with far fewer numbers than yours. We need more reinforcements at this moment!"
"Hmph! Your front is just defending conservatively, with no need for aggression. But my front, we're constantly engaging with the Sand Ninja and facing continuous harassment from the Rain Ninja. The consumption of supplies far exceeds what's needed on your battlefield.
Compared to your lack of achievements, we're close to breaking down the Hidden Sand Village. It's only right that we receive more supplies and allocate more manpower to achieve a short-term victory, break free from the entanglement of the Hidden Sand Village, and then work together with you to defeat the Land of Rain forces!"
Danzo also argued on logical grounds. If it weren't for considering Sarutobi's face, he even wanted to keep all the supplies and reinforcements on his side. In his opinion, wouldn't it be better to defeat the Hidden Sand Village early, and then join forces to overthrow the Land of Rain?
But that guy Sarutobi kept emphasizing not to engage in large-scale conflicts with the Rain Ninja, to preserve the emotional basis for the second round of negotiations. Therefore, the teams sent out to engage in direct combat with the Rain Ninja have always adopted a conservative strategy.
Simply put, when the Rain Ninja attack, Konoha defends. After the attack, they still have to go over and ask, "Are you calm now? If you are, let's talk again."
Fortunately, that battlefield is under the responsibility of Jiraiya and the others, not Shimura Danzo, otherwise Danzo would probably have some reservations about his role outside.
Seeing the two about to argue again, Orochimaru quickly intervened, saying, "Danzo-sama, the supplies are to be evenly distributed. This is the village's order, and sensei has informed the front line in advance. You shouldn't oppose it at this time."
Orochimaru couldn't favor Danzo. Even though he might need to stay on this battlefield for a while later, possibly for Nawaki, he still needed to return to the battlefield where Jiraiya, Tsunade, and they were stationed.
These supplies will be his bargaining chips for fighting against the Rain Ninja. How could he possibly give them to Danzo? If Danzo were sensible, he would voluntarily take fewer resources, considering that Orochimaru would also join this battlefield as a Konoha reinforcement.
Listening to Orochimaru bring up Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzo didn't say anything further. He just remained with a dark expression. If it weren't for Sarutobi being absent, Danzo would surely have said to his face, "Sarutobi, you're too weak!"
However, it seemed that such conversations always ended up with him losing face. Thinking about this, Danzo felt even more frustrated. Damn it, he had also decided to speak up initially, but that guy Sarutobi beat him to it! Opportunistic bastard!
Finally managing to suppress his anger, Danzo continued, "Then I want more ninja tools, explosive tags, and poison mist smoke bombs. At the same time, I also want more ninjas proficient in medical ninjutsu.
As for armor, leave it to you. I don't need such weak supplies!"
Although it's still not the allocation quota set by the village, for Danzo, this is already a kind of concession. Orochimaru and Tsunade exchanged glances, and in the end, Tsunade nodded.
Indeed, she and Jiraiya didn't need too many resources for offense. Moreover, with Tsunade as a medical ninja, along with her disciples, they didn't need other medical ninjas.
Orochimaru then looked at Danzo and nodded, saying, "As Danzo-sama said, I will..."
"Wait!"
Suddenly, Danzo waved his hand. Just when Orochimaru and Tsunade thought he was up to something, Danzo, to their expectations, pointed behind Tsunade and said, "Sakamoto Tatsuma, I need him to stay with me!"
Tatsuma: ???!!!
----
Check out my Patreon for more advanced chapters up to 50 at patreon.com/HellGolt